General Conference
Doctrinal History of Vicarious Work
A friend asked me about the doctrinal history of why Mormons, and specifically Joseph Smith, came up with the doctrine of baptism of the dead, and vicarious ordinances. He noted that in Elder Bednar’s 2011 General Conference talk, Bednar tied vicarious work not only with the visit of Elijah to Joseph Smith in the Kirtland […]
Ordain Women Round 3: Success or Setback?
Last October, Ordain Women announced its intention to attend the males-only General Priesthood session, and repeated the intention this past April. In response, Church leaders excommunicated Kate Kelly in June of this year, announcing that Temple Square was off limits for this “protest.” Furthermore, the Church decided to ban media from both the Women’s meeting […]
Oaks Lights up the Bloggernacle
Facebook was ablaze with comments about Elder Oaks General Conference talk on Saturday night. Disappointed that the church website didn’t have a transcript, I created one so that we could better discuss what he actually said. I decided to let that post stand on its own without any commentary. But in this post, I will […]
Elder Dallin H. Oaks: ‘Keys and authority of the priesthood’
Elder Oaks’ talk has seen the most reaction from the bloggernacle. Since the church takes a while to transcribe these, I have decided to transcribe his talk from yesterday. You can also see it on the official church website by clicking below. What are your thoughts? https://www.lds.org/general-conference/watch/2014/04?lang=eng&vid=3436246697001&cid=3
Sister Zone Leaders
Well, that’s not exactly the right term, but for those who have served LDS missions previously, that’s what the new announcement from the LDS Newsroom amounts to. The term “Zone Leader” is out, and the new term “Mission Leadership Council” is in, and it will include sister missionaries. It wasn’t announced in General Conference, but […]
Realistically Curtailing Abortion
“Many laws permit or even promote abortion, but to us this is a great evil,” Elder Oaks said in Saturday afternoon’s session of General Conference. Oaks is just one of many religious leaders that call abortion evil, but are there more effective ways to curb abortions than to simply stand on a soapbox? A recent […]
Mormon Heretic 